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East Hampton council approves multiple free-cash appropriations, including $582,500 for snow removal
Summary
The East Hampton City Council on June 3 approved a series of supplemental appropriations from certified free cash to cover shortfalls including $582,500 for snow and ice removal, $23,000 to restore auditor hours, $16,000 for a special election and $60,182.16 to cover a school-nurse vacancy; a $10,000 legal-fees request was continued for more detail.
The East Hampton City Council on Wednesday approved a batch of supplemental appropriations drawn from certified free cash to cover operational shortfalls before the start of the next fiscal year.
Chair Tom Peak said the votes addressed a mix of one-time and personnel-related costs and were typical year-end adjustments after revenue and expense variances. Among the larger actions, the council approved $582,500 to close out fiscal year 2026 shortfalls in snow-and-ice removal—covering overtime, equipment rental, salt and plowing—after Greg Nuttleman, the director of public works, described an unusually heavy winter and higher salt prices.
The council also voted to appropriate $23,000 to the auditor salary line to restore the city auditor to a 40-hour work week and to cover overtime spent clearing a backlog; Auditor Patel confirmed she is paid hourly. A $16,000 transfer from free cash was approved for election-worker pay, ballot printing and voting-machine programming for a June 9 special election. The council approved $60,182.16 to the schools to cover temporary agency costs, a one-time placement fee and a salary differential after a district nurse educator took extended medical leave and then resigned; Sam Hunter of the school committee summarized the district’s request and said the replacement brings more than 20 years of nursing experience.
Several smaller appropriations were also approved or referred to finance: $8,700 for a 14-month rental of a parks maintenance office trailer; $3,500 to cover higher hazardous-waste disposal costs; and transfers to cover fuel and landfill-monitoring shortfalls. Several items requiring additional invoice detail—most notably a requested $10,000 for city legal expenses—were continued to a future meeting at the council’s request.
Councilors asked questions about whether appropriations reflected one-time costs or would affect future budgets. Chair Peak said the auditor and finance team will continue to refine revenue and expense projections ahead of tax-rate calculations later in the year.
The council set a public hearing for a separate group of supplemental appropriations on June 17 and referred multiple requests to the finance committee for review.
